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Credit: Science.gov Alliance
Two new federal interagency websites designed to connect undergraduate and graduate students with education and training opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) fields have been launched on a Science.gov, the portal to U.S. government science information.
The two microsites, STEMUndergrads.science.gov and STEMGradStudents.science.gov, were created by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science in collaboration with participating agencies in the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on STEM Education and the Science.gov Alliance, which governs Science.gov.
The launch of the two websites geared towards undergraduate and graduate students was announced by Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Shaun Donovan in a March 30, 2016, White House blog post, "Delivering Results for the American People." In a section on "Inspiring and equipping U.S. students to excel in STEM fields," the OMB Director wrote, "...These websites leverage Federal assets, expertise, and partnerships to provide a single source of reliable information for both students and universities interested in Federally-supported STEM education training and funding opportunities. By improving access to training and funding opportunities, these portals will support existing Government efforts to better serve groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields and prepare students for tomorrow's STEM workforce."
The microsites were established to be the primary sources for searching Federally-sponsored opportunities for undergraduate and graduate programs in STEM areas. These opportunities range from scholarships, research internships, and graduate fellowships that undergraduate and graduate students can apply to directly to funding opportunities for academic institutions to establish innovative undergraduate and graduate training programs. The two websites will be updated on a regular basis.
Users of the gateways to federal opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students may search for program opportunities using a set of standardized categories -- such as STEM discipline, institutional location where the opportunity is available -- as well as through using akeyword search. Each search result provides a brief program description and a direct link to the sponsoring agency's program website. Interested applicants should follow the sponsoring agency's procedures for applying.
The agencies participating in the two STEM websites for undergraduate and graduate students include the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the National Institutes of Health; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the National Science Foundation; and the U.S. Geological Survey.
"From its inception, Science.gov has been a model of interagency collaboration, with participating organizations from across the U.S. government working together voluntarily to make federal science information and research results easily and centrally accessible" said Pamela Tripp-Melby of the Department of Education and co-chair of the Science.gov Alliance.
"Science.gov welcomes the opportunity to extend our efforts to raise scientific and technical literacy by hosting these two websites that provide information about federal STEM opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students," said Mary Moulton of the Department of Transportation and co-chair of the Science.gov Alliance.
Launched in 2002, Science.gov makes it possible for users to search over 60 databases and over 2,200 selected websites from 20 federal scientific and technical information organizations, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information, including research and development results. Science.gov is supported by CENDI, an interagency working group of senior scientific and technical information managers, and the website is hosted by the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information, a unit of the Office of Science.
The Science.gov Alliance includes the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Government Publishing Office. These agencies represent approximately 97 percent of the federal R&D budget.
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